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This looks like an excellent series.
I have been greatly inspired by Teresa D’Avila’s meditations, as well as that of the Cloud of Unknowing, which you mention in passing. I remember reading Cloud in its original middle English back in my early 20s (barely out my teens really) at a time when I was also trying to tackle Sanskrit and encountered the term Samadhi which (looking back) was quite important to my spiritual studies as it allowed me to engage with nonduality. There is something about that age in young people which encompasses both open-mindedness and boldness, both of which are so useful for seeking spiritual understanding in today’s confused world. It is a pity so many today don’t ever encounter this wonderful teachings (or for that matter, Buddhists who automatically reject them on the basis of their Christian theological influence). After all these years I still encounter that spark of inspiration from these texts, and I am glad to find others who also find value in them.
I wonder if some day you will take on St. Augustine too. There is a book I haven’t read yet but I thought maybe you would enjoy it, called The Mysticism of Saint Augustine: Rereading the Confessions, by John Kenney (Routledge Press, 2005). I include a small excerpt below from a review since it touches on something I think comes up a lot in contemporary Western “philosophical” attempts to engage with Buddhism through the lens of Neoplatonism, specifically Plotinus — a view I feel is limited for the reasons described here:
“For those of us who have been following debates over the epistemology of religious experience, Kenney’s Augustine is an inducement to abandon the analogy between sense-perception and religious experience and allow a much greater theological scope to the notion of an experiential report. For others of us who are more interested in Augustine himself, we are encouraged not to read Augustine’s foil in matters mystical, Plotinus, as a technician of tiny ecstasies. If Plotinus was a contemplative truth-seeker and not a man obsessed with having as many experiences as possible of ineffable bliss, then Augustine, as a serious reader of Plotinus, may not have been very preoccupied with the issue of whether tiny ecstasies can be multiplied and prolonged in this mortal life.”
Here’s a link to the review:
https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/the-mysticism-of-saint-augustine-rereading-the-confessions/
Anyway enough of my prattle. I look forward to the series!
Many, many thanks for your insightful reply! Glad to see that Teresa’s writings have inspired you too. Thanks also for the link on Augustine; am particularly interested with that Plotinus-Augustine connection. Will definitely have to get that book. Was also inspired years ago reading his Confessions,and even more so his “City of God.” Enjoy this series! 🙂